The Michigan Attorney General’s office has issued an updated consumer alert for tax season with tips on how to avoid the latest tax and IRS related scams. Tax season is typically a time the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team sees an uptick in complaints relating to tax-related scams.

“Tax season can be stressful enough without the added worry of falling victim to a scam artist,” Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said. “I encourage residents to file early and take a look at these tips to provide an extra layer of security during tax season.”

The IRS will never contact you asking for personal information by phone or email. Any residents who believe they have received fraudulent calls or emails to contact the IRS directly.

Consumers should be aware of the following scams:

Phone scams:

• A high pressure call that threatens legal action which can only be avoided by immediate payment.

• A caller identifies themselves as an IRS employee and tells the targeted victim that they are eligible for a sizable rebate for filing taxes early if they submit bank account information for direct deposit of the rebate or refund.

• A person claiming to be an IRS employee indicates the IRS sent a check that has not been cashed and the IRS needs to verify the individual’s bank account number.

IRS email scams:

• Using the official IRS logo.

• Using whole sections of text from the IRS’s website.

• Using a fake “from” address that looks similar to the IRS.

• Using forms with numbers similar to those the IRS already uses.

The IRS will never contact you via email, so don’t be fooled, the Attorney General’s office stated.

What should you do if you get an email or phone call claiming to come from the IRS?

• If you don’t owe taxes, hang up immediately or delete the email without opening it. Report any suspicious solicitation to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration hotline at 800-366-4484.

• If you do owe on your taxes, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 if you need federal tax assistance.

• Do not click on any links embedded in a suspicious email.

You may forward emails to phishing@irs.gov, the address established by the IRS to receive, track and shut down these scams. Detailed instructions for how to send the emails are available through the IRS. You may not receive an individual response to your email because of the volume of reports the IRS receives each day.

Report misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms or other IRS property to the Treasury Inspector General hotline at 800-366-4484.

The only genuine IRS website is www.irs.gov. You should never get to this site using a link embedded into an email; instead, enter the address in your browser. A website link embedded into an email can easily take you to a fake site.